"Nah. You're not fat." Dante answered with a wave of his hand before hearing her burst out laughing at him. "Right, right, right." He answered with a roll of his eyes and sighed in a sort of "whatever" style of look before looking off to the side to her comment before feeling her give his rear a barely noticeable kick there. His reaction to that was him spinning around and then leaning in close enough to place his forehead on hers and give her a truly vicious glare, almost daring her to try it again. It would remain there for a little while before he pulled his face back from her and then smiled at her.

"I've been to that grocery store once. Didn't like some of their prices." Dante then answered with a shrug of his shoulder with the same smile on his face before looking at her once more. "However, I'm not exactly a nice guy, but I know what I'm doing all the time." He added.

She blinked a little as he backed up into her, his forehead against hers with that heated look in his eyes. For a moment she really was shocked and afraid. Chuckling as she pulled away, she looked at him, wondering if perhaps she had met her match. "I never said you didn't," she said, taking his arm in hers and turning him back toward the grocery store. About two blocks down the grocery store came into view. "Well then, what do you want to make when you lose?"

Willingly letting her wrap his arm up with her, Dante would then match steps with Kelly as he then walked with her for a full two blocks before the two would then see the outline of the grocery store a little ways off from them. When asked what he would make if in the event that he lost to her, Dante thought about it for a little bit before he gave Kelly his answer.

"I'm thinking a nice Chicken Parmesan with pasta on the side. Maybe even a glass of red merlot to go with it." Dante answered before he then turned his focus over to her. "How about you? What'll you make when you lose, huh?" He asked her in return.

Kelly smiled. "Well now you made that sound so good that I really want it. Would it be unfair if I said the same thing? I can add a little dessert to that too, if you agree," she offered. Wondering if he would take that last statement the wrong way, she waited for the oh-so-witty remark that she was almost sure would follow. She still held his arm with hers, noticing for the first time that he hadn't even questioned it. Well that was certainly a change from last night.

"Really now?" Dante asked as he turned his head towards her with a smile on his face. "When you put it like that, I'm beginning to wonder what it could be." He added with a chuckle of sorts as he then slid both of his hands into his pockets all while arching a brow at her. To be bluntly honest, not really much has surprised him over the years, so he figured what she had in mind for their dessert could be anything really.

Kelly chuckled at the look on his face. "Well don't get too excited," she said, nudging him just a little. "But I can do amazing things with chocolate," she said, putting a touch more of provocativeness in her voice than she really needed. She gave him a sly little look and shrugged. "Sound like a deal or not?"

Dante noticed the rather provocative tone she used, laughing a little bit before smiling at her with a sort mischievous look in his eye now. "Oh, you wicked minx, you." Dante answered as he arched a brow at her. "Now you're getting me all curious as to what we'll be having for dessert." He added before bursting out into another laugh, one that went on for about a good several moments before finally settling down enough to look at her once more.

"But, we'll attempt to save that for later on." Dante said to Kelly with a grin on his face before gesturing over to the grocery store. "Right now, we got things to get for later on tonight, unless if you're planning on telling me all about it."

She rolled her eyes and looked up at him with a smile. "I was talking about a souffle. I'd throw one into the deal if you let me make the same thing you're going to make when you lose." She smiled and walked into the store, grabbing a cart, knowing she'd need a little more materials than what she had at the house to make this work. "What do you say?"

"Alright, alright." Dante answered with a smile on his face and a wave of his hand. "I'll let you get away with that for now." He added as he then followed her into the store a little while later and then into the grocery store with his hands in his pocket. "But as long as I pick out the wine. That sound good to you?" He then asked as he then turned his attention to her once more.

"That's fine with me, but you're paying for it," she said with a chuckle. She went to the produce section and got two salads of the pre-made variety for before dinner and got a few packets of dressing so they could choose which one they wanted. When she came back to his side, she directed him through the poultry section until they had what they wanted, taking a detour into the baking section for her souffle materials. They got different things for sauces, but the same kinds of cheeses. As promised, Sophie let him choose the wine he wanted, smiling at the small but very nice selection the store had.

She would miss this place. But it was nice to finally share her experiences with someone else.

"That's fine by me, but you're paying for the rest of the stuff." Dante countered with a bit of a grin on his face as he then followed her still, passing through the poultry section of the grocery store and acquiring what they would need for tonight. Once there, Dante would then break off from Kelly to peruse their wine selection here, looking through the small variety here with a sharp eye. He knew there had to be the right wine here, but he was having a bit of trouble trying to figure out what one.

After clicking his tongue a few times as he continued to look, Dante would eventually find the bottle of red Merlot and raised his eyebrows upward a bit then smiled a bit before reaching for the bottle and plucking it out of the rack, tucking it under his arm and then caught up with Kelly a few moments later. "Right," Dante said after a moment. "Got everything we needed?" He asked.

"Yup. I have everything I needed, and your stuff too." She smiled and started to head toward checkout with their cart. "Find a good one?" she asked, gesturing to his arm. "Oh, and once we put this away, we should probably find a judge of sorts."

"Not sure about finding a judge, " Dante answered with a shrug of his shoulders as he began to lead the way over the cash register. "But then again, we can always use the DJ to be the judge and let the crowd decide who's the winner." He added as he glanced over to her with a smile on his face. "Besides, he was laying down some pretty groovy lines, I think." He added.

"Sounds like a plan to me," she said, shrugging a little as they came to the cashier. Once all the groceries were up on the counter and bagged, Kelly paid for the things she'd need to make their dinner if she lost and waited for him to buy his wine and whatever remained of the groceries that he wanted to make. She carried her things and walked with him when they were done. She hailed a cab and they got a nice ride home. When they arrived and all of her things put away, she turned to him and asked, "Hey, did you want to change at all before our little competition?"

"Awesome." Dante answered as he then went over to the register next and then paid for the wine and other things before taking it out in a couple of bags before heading out with her and waited for the cab with her. Once it was hailed down, Dante walked around to the other side and hopped into the opposite passenger side with a sigh, somehow thankful that they were going to carry these things all the way back. "Yeah, I don't see why not. Besides, I need to get out of these clothes and get into something a bit more comfortable." He answered with a smile on his face.

"I can give you a ride to your ship if you want. So you can change. Or you could borrow my car. Whatever you feel like doing." She leaned against the door frame of her kitchen, the two aprons now hanging from her cupboards. She wondered what she should put on for the competition. Different outfits flashed through her mind and she smiled at him. "Just let me know."

"That's the thing," Dante answered as they arrived a little while later back to her place then walked inside. "When I came here, the place I was at was uptown from here, near the commercial district." He added as he then came inside her house a little while later then settled himself down on the couch with his legs crossed over the other.

"So fill the tank up on your way back," Kelly said, walking toward the couch. "I promise I won't go anywhere. Or if you really want me to come with, I'll come with. Whatever. Or you could wear the apron," she teased, curling up like a cat next to him. "Just tell me what you wanna do."

"You know that sounds like a great idea." Dante answered when she made the suggestion to bring her to the apartment in the uptown district of this town. For all he knew, it would be a better change of scenery for her instead of this dump of a place. "If you like, I can give you a tour of the place. Besides, you look like you need a change of scenery anyway." He said with a smile on his face as he watched her curl up next to him. "And if you're a good girl, I may even let you stay the night there." He spoke once more with a tease of his own.

Kelly raised an eyebrow at his suggestion and chuckled at his last statement. "Fair enough. Let me grab everything then and we'll be on our way." She stopped leaning on the door and got her bag with her clothes and grabbed an extra outfit for their dance competition. "Are we going to come back to cook here? Or do you want to grab the groceries and apron?" she asked, grabbing her keys.

"Yeah, I'll get the rest of the stuff." Dante answered as he stood up from the couch next and stretched himself out for a moment, his spine giving out a few pops here and there as a result then sighed when he dropped his hands by his sides before walking over and then grabbing the groceries and the aprons as well. Once he had everything in hand, Dante made his way out to the parking lot where her car was waiting for them then glanced back. "I'll drive us there. Besides, I know a shortcut to take through the highway." He spoke.

"Okay," she said, using the button to pop the trunk. Once they had everything together, she helped him haul it to her car and then gave him the keys. "There you go, hun. Let me know if you get yourself lost," she teased. She slipped into the passenger's seat and buckled up, waiting for him to take her to the place he'd gotten for a base here.

"Geez, you think I'm gonna get lost on the way to my own apartment uptown? I swear, you are gonna catch such a spanking from me if you keep busting my balls like this, Kelly." Dante answered with a wag of his finger and an arch of his brow before he got into the driver's seat this time and then placed the keys into the ignition, starting it up and then driving away, heading for the interstate highway.

She chuckled and let him drive, leaning back in her seat and looking out the window with a smile. It was really nice to be around someone like this. Getting to know him was quite pleasant. It was so nice she almost forgot why he'd come to her in the first place. It made her wish very much that circumstances were different. What would happen when it was time for him to give her up? Well, she would miss him, but at least she'd had this time with him. After all, the present was what counted now. The past was just numbers.

After a little bit of driving, Dante was soon on the highway, heading for the uptown district when he settled back in the seat as he looked straight ahead then gripped the steering wheel with one hand while the other one rested against the windowsill. To be honest, a lot had gone through his mind as he continued to drive, thinking over the current situation at the present moment. For whatever reason Zio Matrix wanted this woman for, it seemed as though they were dead set on having her head given to them on a silver platter. Such a shame, though. If circumstances had played out differently, then perhaps he wouldn't have taken this job after all and done something different with his life.